Great review! I've been riding a CRF300L with an upgraded suspension lately and have been extremely happy with it. It's now my go-to for day rides, thanks to its off-road capabilities and reasonably good on-road characteristics. I haven't taken it on any overnight rides yet, but I would consider it, assuming I could fit everything I need into a large tank bag and a backpack. For anything more, I'd likely opt for a middle-weight adventure bike. Currently, a heavily modified 2018 KLR650 fills this role for me.
The 300 is very misunderstood regarding carrying capacity. I use mine here in Australia on unsupported trips including recently the Madigan line which is 850 klm autonomy required in mainly sand dune country. So 14 litres of water 35 litres of fuel food for 5 days and full camping gear. It is my go to bike now for remote and desert raid touring. Using KRIEGA rackless and a Ventura top bag mainly and small tank panniers for the extra fuel. I loved my dr650 but when it comes to a tight trail fully loaded this thing runs rings around the closest offers including the Dr and Klr. If you need info re setup drop me a line happy to help
We/ve talked, I picked up a very slightly used Husky FE 501 S, it was current year 23' when I grabbed it with 66 miles on it. He traded it in on a Pan America. I've got a headlight upgrade, tail tidy, and a True North rear luggage rack to beef up that weak subframe, a Seat Concepts comfort seat, a higher capacity oil cover and I bought the biggest IMS tank but I'm kinda re-thinking that and if I can get an Acerbis 3.9 I might go that route and sell the huge IMS tank. Which is kinda funny because that's why I sold the KLX 300, no after market higher capacity tanks were available. If I keep the Husky, I need a Cush drive and then it should be set. The 23' 501 is really buzzy on the pavement at speed, I probably should have grabbed a 690/701/700 but at the time I thought that was just too close to my 890 Adventure. Like you said, if a couple manufactures with big service networks would just build our unicorn bikes it would solve a lot of questions. Cheers Curtis!
If you want a relatively inexpensive, 240 lbs bike, and are happy staying off highways, and maxing out at about 60 mph (for short bursts), then a plated '96-'04 Honda XR250R is awesome. I have two with 4 gallon IMS tanks, and 40L Mosko bags. Almost 400 mile range. I've had many great 4 day camping trips on the endless fire roads and small paved roads around Yosemite, California
CRF300 Rally here - did the YSS fork spring and shock swap out as soon as I got it. B&B bashplate, rear rack and front sprocket guard. Bark busters, crashbars and swapped out the shoes for D606 rear and D605 front (after a scary trial with the GT2166). Runs like a champion and is a great little all rounder. Had the CFMOTO 800MT Touring as well for extended highway and commute work, but also was great on gravel and forest roads. Had to let it go unfortunately.
@@slakk5093 I was moving interstate and was only taking one bike with me. 800MT sold first. No real issues, it was comfortable and good value for money, came with all the farkles. All I did was put a top box on it. The LC8 799 KTM donk with the gearbox was a good match up. It was top heavy and I did struggle with it at low speed, mostly because I'm a short arse and it's 240 kg wet.
@@onthebackwheel the GT2166 was a handful on the road/gravel/forestl with a square profile and aggressive tread. I just wanted something a bit more 50/50 on the front with a rounded profile. 606 on the back is fine, it's harder compound than the 605 with more aggressive knobs with good longevity and losing traction is more manageable than a skatey front.
CRF300l with D606 rear, MT21 front, K tech suspension, bash plate, pro tec fat bars, wider pegs, rear rack. Perfect for some highway and off road. So far I’ve found no limits to the off road capability, but on the highway it is a little light on power.
Having mentioned the kove450 , it will be interesting to see how the royal enfield 450 & cfmoto 450mt compare as they are in the ball park in weight & power as a KLR650
In the topic of hardenduro 450/500 after modifications as ADV. I've always liked this idea, there are a lot of videos of them doing big expeditions with converted EXC500s. That's probably why I modified my WR450 piece by piece in a similar way. A large 16 liter tank, a soft wide seat, a fairing, I even changed the ignition map (gray cable) back to WR. I did 4k km on my motorcycle last year. And maybe I would even be convinced that it would be suitable for further expeditions if it weren't for the fact that I also have an 800de. I flew the WR all winter, but yesterday I started suzuki... and only then did I remember how it can drive.... Unfortunately, I must say that hardenduro, even with a seat, fuel tank and fairing, is not and will not be real adv. My trips with it are on average 150-200 km and it's a great machine for that type of driving around the chimney. Especially in winter, when there is too much mud to push yourself into empty fields with a heavy adv. But what WR does is dualsport, not adv. The 2-cylinder, drives completely differently and if you need to travel several hundred kilometers to the target route, or go on a further trip, you need only a real adv. (additionally, riding on asphalt roads is a pleasure, but not so much on hardenuro) I know you can go to Kazakhstan by scooter, but even though I always watch another TH-cam video about the EXC500 converted for long-distance trips, I see from my own experience that it doesn't work.
Currently running a 2021 FE450 with an ARX Enduro tower, geared at 15/50. Cost of ownership with servicing and pending rebuilds are causing me to look elsewhere though. The CFMOTO 450MT is on the top of my list - much to my surprise!
Curtis , I used your KLR tire change video to change my tires. I took off the rear wheel and both spacers fell out. I paused your video when your spacer came out to see which one goes on each side. Thank you
Another great video. I'm so glad you mentioned all the over hype of the Kove. I would love for you to get your hands on one to see how quickly it would fall apart. You could of added the CFMOTO MT450 because the engine is proven in other platforms and has quality components. I'm a Chinese hater but may have to add the MT/Ibex 450 to the collection. I would love to see Suzuki give us a DRZ450 and a modern DR700. If they offered a standard and rally version, they coukd really lock up that segment. I am a life long Susuki hater but I will never sell my DR and loving the 800DE.
@@onthebackwheel The Kove 450 with the race midpipe, muffler and ECU is not lacking power at all. A buddy with a heavily modded CRF450L rode mine today and said the power is plenty good on the Kove.
Whilst everyones idea of adventure is different, and you can tour on anything, typical adventure riding is often seen as continent cross stuff across all types of surfaces. For example rides like Alaska to Ushuaia, doing nordkapp to South Africa, London to Magadan, and other RTW type stuff. Some of these competition bikes while great for playing in the woods, would be a bit of a misery on full on RTW rides. Servicing would be an issue, along with comfort, range, weather protection etc.Don't forget alternator output too. It get's pretty cold at 5,000m and heated gear can be useful.I think you touch upon some of these issues, but could go deeper. 👍🏼
If I was doing long distance trips I'd be getting on board something with longer intervals for sure. For the multi-day, harder trips here in Aus, the smaller bikes are a great option
Change the gearing on the DRZ and you can cruise on the pavement without the engine buzzing so much. I run a 16T front sprocket and a 38T rear and 1st gear is still low enough for single track.
The Kove 450 Rally is not just hype. Have 650 miles on mine. Not lacking power at all with an ECU remap and uncorked. The fuel range is better than every other dual sport / light ADV bike on the market right out of the box. The bike is incredibly good on the highway for being an offroad focused bike. See my 500 mile review / first impressions.
Good run through of the current options. I think where most manufacturers are missing a segment is the small-mid cc single with decent service intervals, reasonable road manners + light weight / off-road biased platform. I have a CRF300L and if it was a 400/450 and 10kg lighter I'd call it perfect. Kove 450 Rally is perhaps the closest thing out there, though still a little on the heavy side and unknown support + hard to get a hold of. I'm crossing my fingers for a more dual-sport like KTM 390 ADV in the next year or two...
Very good review. My go to bike now is a modified 300 rally for remote exploration and desert raid. Personally I think this is the new DR 650 which I love but in the tight trails the 300 is far superior fully loaded in the tight trails and factoring in reliability price of bike and mods. For remote exploration I don’t think rhe 690 base is realistic. A very exciting bike I loved with a 701 for a while and yes on paper it looks perfect but in reality it is not very practical or reliable enough in my opinion and the 300 which replaced is sadly much more fit for purpose when it comes to fully loaded unsupported touring as long as you are not looking for the power and extreme acceleration of the 690 that is
Thanks mate and great to have someone with real world experience comment. Your description fits the 300 class to a tee, not exciting but gets the job done
What about the vstrom 250 Just took mine on a 10000 km trip Did it in two weeks On the road Some dirt And loaded up to the hilt To me that was an adventure Making this little bike a true adventure bike So the suspension isnt as long travel as some However my ass made it without problems 167 kg bike And paid $6100 at the dealer With a top box and rego and insurance $6700 Added bar risers and bar brace By the way Its only 4 months old has done 18000 km and just replacing the original tyres now
The KTM 390 rocks the small adventure bike category again. I ride this on BDR's, and it is very capable, although I have modified/upgraded mine significantly. But then, don't we modify every bike?
Got my 300 l fitted with yes suspensions fork and rear and some other mods,great bike and use it mainly off road.Have a cb 500 x aswell for the road stuff.If I had to have just one bike it would be the Ajp or the Kobe.Thanks for the comparisons 😊
Carbed bikes still exist because stuff gets grandfathered in and all motorcycle sales are about margins, especially so on the low end. I.E. it's how the bikes stay cheap. Which is also why cheap bikes tend to go longer without upgrades. If you're a manufacturer with a cheap bike that functionally has no R&D coming out of the margin anymore, and it's grandfathered in despite not meeting modern regs, then changing it means you also have to meet the new regs, so you better make sure that what you're changing provides you some tangible benefits at as little cost as possible or wait until you're forced to change for whatever reason (law, competition, etc). This is is why the KLR suddenly got fuel injection despite years of being carbed, but didn't get much else that people might want like reduced weight, more power, or the elimination of the dreaded doohickey. Changing that means you gotta do R&D, which hurts the margins, which hurts profits, especially when the margins you're hurting are on cheap to produce, high volume bikes. So you satisfy the regulatory fuel system requirements, pop some new cheap bits and bobs on like an old ABS system, create a couple new SKUs to market, and touch nothing else. A $500 margin decrease (or price bump) on a GS is nothing, 2% or less. The same on a DRZ is around 7% loss or price increase.
They are available in the States and a high percentage of my watchers are from there. You should be able to jag a 500 from the odd place, certainly not many left
Curious as to why two bikes didn’t make the cut, the KTM300exc and KLR650? I ride a crf300 Rally. With a few mods, it’s really a great little bike for certain people. With that said, I can definitely picture an AJP in my future. But I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to have one in my state, since it doesn’t come road ready. But maybe there will be a way to work around that... Edit: actually there is a third bike that I think should had made the list. And it’s one that I think I would personally choose over the KLX250, and that is the Yamaha XT250.
Hi, I'd never want to do any bigger distances on a 2 stroke. I know some you don't have to mix oil but that's a big problem if you do. The KLR is too heavy for this class, good budget mid weight for sure!
@@airadaimagery692 no worries, you might mean the 350 then (there's no 300 KTM 4 stroke). I wouldn't recommend them, good enduro bikes but the engine won't last. The 500 works because it lugs along
@@onthebackwheel gotcha. Wheeled Geezer just did the entire Trans America Trail on the KTM 350, riding along side his buddy on the crf300l, and he seemed to do quite well with it. But we all have different perspectives on different bikes. The Yamaha XT250 is another one that I think should had been on the list. It’s a tried and true little machine. Definitely a lot more reliable than any KTM, but nowhere near the power.
Good video but I can't identify the bikes once you put them on the chart all together. Please do something so we can tell which bike is what when they are all shown at the same time...Thanks. Maybe just redo the current video and release it.
Thank you for your brake down of the bikes available and there capabilities. However I am very disappointed that you didn't include the very reliable and dependable KLR 650.Personally I believe that it should have been included, it has been around as long any on your list and longer than most. Sure it has its draw backs but it is a rock solid bike that has proved its self since the early 80's. Other than your exclusion of the mighty KLR I think your brake down is great.
Great video mate. In terms of a comparison between the crf300 vs the drz400e, I don't own either of them but I've been doing some research so if anybody reading owns one or both, please confirm and correct me if I'm wrong, but apparently if you put a 15/44 on the drz, it revs the same as the crf at 100k/h I'm in the market for a new bike and have chopped and changed my mind a few times but I think I'm leaning more towards a drz
Cheers. Hopefully an owner can help you out or you can double check on a gearing website. The issues will be 1st then gets a bit longer, but lots of people put up with it. I have only ridden one with stock gearing so cant give a definitive answer sorry
@@onthebackwheel Appreciate the reply mate, cheers. Yeah, it will be a bit of a compromise at lower speeds but I've seen people pour decent money into a crf300 with big bore kits, ecu remaps, suspension etc and if you need to spend that kind of money on it, why not just choose a bike that has the power and ride quality you're after that's standard from the showroom floor? It's a shame as the crf was winning me over but I don't want something that I'll get bored of or outgrow in a hurry
@@onthebackwheel I'm coming from a 4wd background, so I'm very used to slow vehicles but the amount of people trying to push power out of the crf tells me I won't be able to live with keeping it stock and will probably invest too much into it ahaha. If I could buy a drz new and keep it stock I'd rather do that and not mess with the longevity as I always wonder what stress engine mods create. That should keep me content for many years hopefully. Very tough choice though!
@@JoshSinnott97 I'd say go with a drz then. You should be able to pick up a decent newish one for a good price. Very minor mods and you can leave them for a long time
Now Curtis, you didn't say whether the 175kg was wet or dry. If its dry weight, then the CFMoto 450MT ould rate highly. The thought of buying a KTM500EXE for $18 large, them spending two or three thousand to modify it makes me a bit ill. For that I could go and buy lightly used Norden 901 or 890 Adventure R!! Just sayin'....
Whats an adventure bike? DOH, can of worms opened! 😆Hahahaha Most of the motorcycles you mentioned are trail/dirt bikes! Not what I envisage an adventure bike is, but then again I dont think anyone knows what a "adventure bike" is and its probably what you want it to be, but anyway I'm old school so all the above are dirt bikes. Hahaha 😂
haha exactly. I posted similar. To me adventure bikes harp back to the days of people modding stuff to cross continents, and ride a mixture of road, dirt, or whatever comes their way. Today people seem think doing enduro riding is adventure. different strokes for different folks, but it probably needs defining when trying to come up with the list of bikes.
Having to add a bigger tank to make bikes practical is a negative for me. If these bikes had more fuel capacity, how many buyers would think "If only it carried less fuel so I had to pack extra fuel for a decent ride."
Dual sport Suzuki Drz400 31.8 hp Kawasaki Klx300 24 hp Honda Crf300l 27hp Enduro Ktm500exc 64 hp Gasgas 500 ?hp Husky 501 ?hp Sherco 500 Swm rs500 Beta 500 Yamaha Wrf450f 58 hp Large capacity dual sport Kove450 ralleye 52 hp Honda crf450rl Honda xr650l 35 hp Suzuki dr 650 43 hp Ajp pr7 60 hp Ktm790 Gasgas 700 Husky 701 Swm super dual 54hp Street biased adventure Kawasaki versysx300 39hp BMW gs310 34 hp Ktm 390 adventure 44 hp
YES! Mentioned PR7. I owned a couple 610’s, the motor and gearbox are amazing, super wide ratio.
Swm also based on this drivetrain
Rock solid motor hey
Great review! I've been riding a CRF300L with an upgraded suspension lately and have been extremely happy with it. It's now my go-to for day rides, thanks to its off-road capabilities and reasonably good on-road characteristics. I haven't taken it on any overnight rides yet, but I would consider it, assuming I could fit everything I need into a large tank bag and a backpack. For anything more, I'd likely opt for a middle-weight adventure bike. Currently, a heavily modified 2018 KLR650 fills this role for me.
Thanks! Sounds like a great set up mate. Have you thought about a rackless luggage set up for the 300?
The 300 is very misunderstood regarding carrying capacity. I use mine here in Australia on unsupported trips including recently the Madigan line which is 850 klm autonomy required in mainly sand dune country. So 14 litres of water 35 litres of fuel food for 5 days and full camping gear. It is my go to bike now for remote and desert raid touring.
Using KRIEGA rackless and a Ventura top bag mainly and small tank panniers for the extra fuel. I loved my dr650 but when it comes to a tight trail fully loaded this thing runs rings around the closest offers including the Dr and Klr. If you need info re setup drop me a line happy to help
We/ve talked, I picked up a very slightly used Husky FE 501 S, it was current year 23' when I grabbed it with 66 miles on it. He traded it in on a Pan America.
I've got a headlight upgrade, tail tidy, and a True North rear luggage rack to beef up that weak subframe, a Seat Concepts comfort seat, a higher capacity oil cover and I bought the biggest IMS tank but I'm kinda re-thinking that and if I can get an Acerbis 3.9 I might go that route and sell the huge IMS tank. Which is kinda funny because that's why I sold the KLX 300, no after market higher capacity tanks were available.
If I keep the Husky, I need a Cush drive and then it should be set.
The 23' 501 is really buzzy on the pavement at speed, I probably should have grabbed a 690/701/700 but at the time I thought that was just too close to my 890 Adventure.
Like you said, if a couple manufactures with big service networks would just build our unicorn bikes it would solve a lot of questions.
Cheers Curtis!
Great comment mate. End of the day all the Enduro bikes are just that, competition bikes not designed for it but we make them work!
If you want a relatively inexpensive, 240 lbs bike, and are happy staying off highways, and maxing out at about 60 mph (for short bursts), then a plated '96-'04 Honda XR250R is awesome. I have two with 4 gallon IMS tanks, and 40L Mosko bags. Almost 400 mile range. I've had many great 4 day camping trips on the endless fire roads and small paved roads around Yosemite, California
Got to love the mighty XR
CRF300 Rally here - did the YSS fork spring and shock swap out as soon as I got it. B&B bashplate, rear rack and front sprocket guard. Bark busters, crashbars and swapped out the shoes for D606 rear and D605 front (after a scary trial with the GT2166). Runs like a champion and is a great little all rounder. Had the CFMOTO 800MT Touring as well for extended highway and commute work, but also was great on gravel and forest roads. Had to let it go unfortunately.
Why did you let the CFMoto go? Any problems with it?
Sounds like a mean set up mate. Interesting that you went with the d605 front
@@slakk5093 I was moving interstate and was only taking one bike with me. 800MT sold first. No real issues, it was comfortable and good value for money, came with all the farkles. All I did was put a top box on it. The LC8 799 KTM donk with the gearbox was a good match up. It was top heavy and I did struggle with it at low speed, mostly because I'm a short arse and it's 240 kg wet.
@@onthebackwheel the GT2166 was a handful on the road/gravel/forestl with a square profile and aggressive tread. I just wanted something a bit more 50/50 on the front with a rounded profile. 606 on the back is fine, it's harder compound than the 605 with more aggressive knobs with good longevity and losing traction is more manageable than a skatey front.
CRF300l with D606 rear, MT21 front, K tech suspension, bash plate, pro tec fat bars, wider pegs, rear rack. Perfect for some highway and off road. So far I’ve found no limits to the off road capability, but on the highway it is a little light on power.
Having mentioned the kove450 , it will be interesting to see how the royal enfield 450 & cfmoto 450mt compare as they are in the ball park in weight & power as a KLR650
In the topic of hardenduro 450/500 after modifications as ADV. I've always liked this idea, there are a lot of videos of them doing big expeditions with converted EXC500s. That's probably why I modified my WR450 piece by piece in a similar way. A large 16 liter tank, a soft wide seat, a fairing, I even changed the ignition map (gray cable) back to WR. I did 4k km on my motorcycle last year. And maybe I would even be convinced that it would be suitable for further expeditions if it weren't for the fact that I also have an 800de. I flew the WR all winter, but yesterday I started suzuki... and only then did I remember how it can drive....
Unfortunately, I must say that hardenduro, even with a seat, fuel tank and fairing, is not and will not be real adv. My trips with it are on average 150-200 km and it's a great machine for that type of driving around the chimney. Especially in winter, when there is too much mud to push yourself into empty fields with a heavy adv.
But what WR does is dualsport, not adv.
The 2-cylinder, drives completely differently and if you need to travel several hundred kilometers to the target route, or go on a further trip, you need only a real adv.
(additionally, riding on asphalt roads is a pleasure, but not so much on hardenuro)
I know you can go to Kazakhstan by scooter, but even though I always watch another TH-cam video about the EXC500 converted for long-distance trips, I see from my own experience that it doesn't work.
Great comment mate and good to get a real world perspective. I've seen those crazy people that ride scooters and postie bikes long distances, mad!
Currently running a 2021 FE450 with an ARX Enduro tower, geared at 15/50.
Cost of ownership with servicing and pending rebuilds are causing me to look elsewhere though. The CFMOTO 450MT is on the top of my list - much to my surprise!
I don't think you are alone there bud. Yours is a nice bike for sure!
Curtis , I used your KLR tire change video to change my tires. I took off the rear wheel and both spacers fell out. I paused your video when your spacer came out to see which one goes on each side. Thank you
Glad I could help mate. That part was bloody tricky, especially lining up the brake caliper at the same time
Another great video. I'm so glad you mentioned all the over hype of the Kove. I would love for you to get your hands on one to see how quickly it would fall apart. You could of added the CFMOTO MT450 because the engine is proven in other platforms and has quality components. I'm a Chinese hater but may have to add the MT/Ibex 450 to the collection. I would love to see Suzuki give us a DRZ450 and a modern DR700. If they offered a standard and rally version, they coukd really lock up that segment. I am a life long Susuki hater but I will never sell my DR and loving the 800DE.
Would love to get my hands on the Kove. The CF Moto is too heavy for these categories, I'm still extremely keen for it!
@@onthebackwheel The Kove 450 with the race midpipe, muffler and ECU is not lacking power at all. A buddy with a heavily modded CRF450L rode mine today and said the power is plenty good on the Kove.
Whilst everyones idea of adventure is different, and you can tour on anything, typical adventure riding is often seen as continent cross stuff across all types of surfaces. For example rides like Alaska to Ushuaia, doing nordkapp to South Africa, London to Magadan, and other RTW type stuff. Some of these competition bikes while great for playing in the woods, would be a bit of a misery on full on RTW rides. Servicing would be an issue, along with comfort, range, weather protection etc.Don't forget alternator output too. It get's pretty cold at 5,000m and heated gear can be useful.I think you touch upon some of these issues, but could go deeper. 👍🏼
If I was doing long distance trips I'd be getting on board something with longer intervals for sure. For the multi-day, harder trips here in Aus, the smaller bikes are a great option
The one you can afford to pay cash for
It certainly helps
So a well used XR or DR650
None 😭
Change the gearing on the DRZ and you can cruise on the pavement without the engine buzzing so much. I run a 16T front sprocket and a 38T rear and 1st gear is still low enough for single track.
The Kove 450 Rally is not just hype. Have 650 miles on mine. Not lacking power at all with an ECU remap and uncorked. The fuel range is better than every other dual sport / light ADV bike on the market right out of the box. The bike is incredibly good on the highway for being an offroad focused bike. See my 500 mile review / first impressions.
Great to hear mate, I'll check it out. Looking forward to them coming to Aus
Ditto...I have about 900 miles on my Kove 450 Rally. Extremly versatile and capable! Super fun!
Good run through of the current options. I think where most manufacturers are missing a segment is the small-mid cc single with decent service intervals, reasonable road manners + light weight / off-road biased platform. I have a CRF300L and if it was a 400/450 and 10kg lighter I'd call it perfect. Kove 450 Rally is perhaps the closest thing out there, though still a little on the heavy side and unknown support + hard to get a hold of. I'm crossing my fingers for a more dual-sport like KTM 390 ADV in the next year or two...
Preaching to the choir mate. A CRF350-400L would be so good
The Husky 401 Svart would be a good contender to consider.
Good bike but not what I would call an adventure bike
Very good review. My go to bike now is a modified 300 rally for remote exploration and desert raid. Personally I think this is the new DR 650 which I love but in the tight trails the 300 is far superior fully loaded in the tight trails and factoring in reliability price of bike and mods. For remote exploration I don’t think rhe 690 base is realistic. A very exciting bike I loved with a 701 for a while and yes on paper it looks perfect but in reality it is not very practical or reliable enough in my opinion and the 300 which replaced is sadly much more fit for purpose when it comes to fully loaded unsupported touring as long as you are not looking for the power and extreme acceleration of the 690 that is
Thanks mate and great to have someone with real world experience comment. Your description fits the 300 class to a tee, not exciting but gets the job done
What about the vstrom 250
Just took mine on a 10000 km trip
Did it in two weeks
On the road
Some dirt
And loaded up to the hilt
To me that was an adventure
Making this little bike a true adventure bike
So the suspension isnt as long travel as some
However my ass made it without problems
167 kg bike
And paid
$6100 at the dealer
With a top box and rego and insurance
$6700
Added bar risers and bar brace
By the way
Its only 4 months old has done 18000 km and just replacing the original tyres now
This was my first thought, the baby strom for like what, $8k new?
@@Eltombrae 6100
Mate I knew I'd forget at least one! Glad to hear it's going well, there's been a bit of love going around for it
@@onthebackwheeland it's got tubeless rims
The KTM 390 rocks the small adventure bike category again. I ride this on BDR's, and it is very capable, although I have modified/upgraded mine significantly. But then, don't we modify every bike?
I struggle not to modify bikes 😂
1.Fantic 450 Rallye
2. Kove 450 Rallye
Now that's some good choices
Kove sounds interesting...fantic at a comedy 15k and with a 5 speed gearbox no chance
Got my 300 l fitted with yes suspensions fork and rear and some other mods,great bike and use it mainly off road.Have a cb 500 x aswell for the road stuff.If I had to have just one bike it would be the Ajp or the Kobe.Thanks for the comparisons 😊
No worries. How do you find the CRF? I've always wanted to try or set one up
Carbed bikes still exist because stuff gets grandfathered in and all motorcycle sales are about margins, especially so on the low end. I.E. it's how the bikes stay cheap. Which is also why cheap bikes tend to go longer without upgrades. If you're a manufacturer with a cheap bike that functionally has no R&D coming out of the margin anymore, and it's grandfathered in despite not meeting modern regs, then changing it means you also have to meet the new regs, so you better make sure that what you're changing provides you some tangible benefits at as little cost as possible or wait until you're forced to change for whatever reason (law, competition, etc).
This is is why the KLR suddenly got fuel injection despite years of being carbed, but didn't get much else that people might want like reduced weight, more power, or the elimination of the dreaded doohickey. Changing that means you gotta do R&D, which hurts the margins, which hurts profits, especially when the margins you're hurting are on cheap to produce, high volume bikes. So you satisfy the regulatory fuel system requirements, pop some new cheap bits and bobs on like an old ABS system, create a couple new SKUs to market, and touch nothing else. A $500 margin decrease (or price bump) on a GS is nothing, 2% or less. The same on a DRZ is around 7% loss or price increase.
Good comment and 100% true. My only issue is with the KLX250 in Australia, no idea why they haven't bought the 300 dual sport across
Re the SWM 500 …I thought one of the rules was you had to be able to buy it in 2024? But they aren’t available in Aus? Same for the Kove 450?
They are available in the States and a high percentage of my watchers are from there. You should be able to jag a 500 from the odd place, certainly not many left
Curious as to why two bikes didn’t make the cut, the KTM300exc and KLR650?
I ride a crf300 Rally. With a few mods, it’s really a great little bike for certain people. With that said, I can definitely picture an AJP in my future. But I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to have one in my state, since it doesn’t come road ready. But maybe there will be a way to work around that...
Edit: actually there is a third bike that I think should had made the list. And it’s one that I think I would personally choose over the KLX250, and that is the Yamaha XT250.
Hi, I'd never want to do any bigger distances on a 2 stroke. I know some you don't have to mix oil but that's a big problem if you do. The KLR is too heavy for this class, good budget mid weight for sure!
@@onthebackwheel I didn’t mean to mention any 2 strokes, sorry if I did. The bikes I’m thinking of are definitely 4 stroke.
@@airadaimagery692 no worries, you might mean the 350 then (there's no 300 KTM 4 stroke). I wouldn't recommend them, good enduro bikes but the engine won't last. The 500 works because it lugs along
@@onthebackwheel gotcha. Wheeled Geezer just did the entire Trans America Trail on the KTM 350, riding along side his buddy on the crf300l, and he seemed to do quite well with it. But we all have different perspectives on different bikes. The Yamaha XT250 is another one that I think should had been on the list. It’s a tried and true little machine. Definitely a lot more reliable than any KTM, but nowhere near the power.
Another great video M8 but i'm missing your rides :p
oh and the 701 rulz yeeeaaaahhhhh
Cheers mate. Back to the first of many ride videos Sunday 👊
The KTM ADV 390 is getting a refresh soon with 21" front. So it does look like a promising bike for more offroad stuff.
I saw that, keen to see how it goes
Good video but I can't identify the bikes once you put them on the chart all together. Please do something so we can tell which bike is what when they are all shown at the same time...Thanks. Maybe just redo the current video and release it.
Fair enough mate and good to know. I might even just release a picture of them all together that you guys can click on
No suzuki vstrom 250 sx?! Or dr 250?
You know, I should have put the VStrom in
I have a 2024 CRF 450RX red moto, road legal, a 2024 Husquavarna 701, and a 2024 R1300GS ! All bases covered.
That's the way! Very jealous
I love my Versys -X 300 ... done 25,000 kms of hard riding on her and no issues... and only cost $7k new..... :)
You know I've had so many owners say they love their Versys 300 now. Must be a good thing
Thank you for your brake down of the bikes available and there capabilities. However I am very disappointed that you didn't include the very reliable and dependable KLR 650.Personally I believe that it should have been included, it has been around as long any on your list and longer than most. Sure it has its draw backs but it is a rock solid bike that has proved its self since the early 80's. Other than your exclusion of the mighty KLR I think your brake down is great.
It's too heavy to be a lightweight. The new one is well over 200kg!
@@onthebackwheel wet weight 6 galdry weigh is way less. its 380 lbs not 450lbs
@@TraveladvRajanSRai maybe gen 1, definitely not gen 3
Thanks. Good helpful information.
😊
Glad it was helpful
can u buy kove in oz, do u know who's bringing them in?
Not yet. It was supposed to be Mojo but nothing has happened for a long time
When you say “small capacity” is that essentially the same reference as ‘small displacement’ is ?
Yes that's right
What are your thoughts on the voge rally 300? They sure are very popular in Europe
Mate haven't ridden one so can't give a definitive answer. Looks much like a CRF300 Rally except cheaper
nice video can,t wait for the kove 800x to come out here. That to me is my unicorn
It looks the goods hey
@@onthebackwheel Roughly 100 HP at around 400lbs.. Oh yeah.
What are your thoughts on the CFMOTO 450 MT?
Can't wait to ride it. Bit heavier than I thought it would be, everything else looks good
I have a low hours WR250F (New Shape) which I don't use, do you think it is possible to convert this for adventure riding?
I mean anything is possible, but I wouldn't
Great video mate. In terms of a comparison between the crf300 vs the drz400e, I don't own either of them but I've been doing some research so if anybody reading owns one or both, please confirm and correct me if I'm wrong, but apparently if you put a 15/44 on the drz, it revs the same as the crf at 100k/h
I'm in the market for a new bike and have chopped and changed my mind a few times but I think I'm leaning more towards a drz
Cheers. Hopefully an owner can help you out or you can double check on a gearing website. The issues will be 1st then gets a bit longer, but lots of people put up with it. I have only ridden one with stock gearing so cant give a definitive answer sorry
@@onthebackwheel Appreciate the reply mate, cheers. Yeah, it will be a bit of a compromise at lower speeds but I've seen people pour decent money into a crf300 with big bore kits, ecu remaps, suspension etc and if you need to spend that kind of money on it, why not just choose a bike that has the power and ride quality you're after that's standard from the showroom floor? It's a shame as the crf was winning me over but I don't want something that I'll get bored of or outgrow in a hurry
@@JoshSinnott97 if you think you'll get bored, you probably will mate 😬
@@onthebackwheel I'm coming from a 4wd background, so I'm very used to slow vehicles but the amount of people trying to push power out of the crf tells me I won't be able to live with keeping it stock and will probably invest too much into it ahaha. If I could buy a drz new and keep it stock I'd rather do that and not mess with the longevity as I always wonder what stress engine mods create. That should keep me content for many years hopefully. Very tough choice though!
@@JoshSinnott97 I'd say go with a drz then. You should be able to pick up a decent newish one for a good price. Very minor mods and you can leave them for a long time
Curtis, is it true that the Australian CRF 450 RL only has 26 hp?
Yes mate, it's restricted stock. They give you an airbox boot to half derestrict it (need to test that), but it really needs an ECU
I think our 'Murican version has about 40 hp, but they had flame out problems at low speeds
@@billcotton1551 I've heard nightmares about that
Now Curtis, you didn't say whether the 175kg was wet or dry. If its dry weight, then the CFMoto 450MT ould rate highly. The thought of buying a KTM500EXE for $18 large, them spending two or three thousand to modify it makes me a bit ill. For that I could go and buy lightly used Norden 901 or 890 Adventure R!! Just sayin'....
Wet for sure, any more than that certainly isn't lightweight! You're right, they are bloody expensive to set up, fun though 👿
450 Mt is 175kg dry so pushing 190ish wet so heavier than my 390 adventure
Whats an adventure bike? DOH, can of worms opened! 😆Hahahaha Most of the motorcycles you mentioned are trail/dirt bikes! Not what I envisage an adventure bike is, but then again I dont think anyone knows what a "adventure bike" is and its probably what you want it to be, but anyway I'm old school so all the above are dirt bikes. Hahaha 😂
Haha I agree, lots of these are dirt bikes. End of the day they make the best light advs. Not many true light adventure bikes out there really
haha exactly. I posted similar. To me adventure bikes harp back to the days of people modding stuff to cross continents, and ride a mixture of road, dirt, or whatever comes their way. Today people seem think doing enduro riding is adventure. different strokes for different folks, but it probably needs defining when trying to come up with the list of bikes.
CF Moto 450MT and Enfield 450 Him Triumph 400 scram
You miss CF moto 450 mt. BTW, nice video
Cheers. It's by no means light weight unfortunately
Modded DR650 ftw
Hard to beat
SWM 650?
They don't sell them in Australia anymore, not sure about other countries
Having to add a bigger tank to make bikes practical is a negative for me. If these bikes had more fuel capacity, how many buyers would think "If only it carried less fuel so I had to pack extra fuel for a decent ride."
It is a pain
👍👍
XT250 for short people and women. Heck I have an old xt225.. Donkey bike will climb anything.
Old faithful
You can pry my XR650R out of my cold dead hands! 😉
Never let that one go!
Ktm 690 still has cam wear issues, no way as reliable as the old DR
I agree, she's still a KTM
@@onthebackwheel Keep Throwing Money
BMW 500gs
Dual sport
Suzuki Drz400 31.8 hp
Kawasaki Klx300 24 hp
Honda Crf300l 27hp
Enduro
Ktm500exc 64 hp
Gasgas 500 ?hp
Husky 501 ?hp
Sherco 500
Swm rs500
Beta 500
Yamaha Wrf450f 58 hp
Large capacity dual sport
Kove450 ralleye 52 hp
Honda crf450rl
Honda xr650l 35 hp
Suzuki dr 650 43 hp
Ajp pr7 60 hp
Ktm790
Gasgas 700
Husky 701
Swm super dual 54hp
Street biased adventure
Kawasaki versysx300 39hp
BMW gs310 34 hp
Ktm 390 adventure 44 hp
Great information mate. Though I will say if a KTM 500 and wr450 have that much power I'll eat my hat
Yamaha WR250r, just lacks a little power on the road say for overtaking. Yamaha are you asleep bring us a Wr350r
Wild they haven't bought one out
Emissions are super tough on singles
@@drifterdave01 yep. Others are managing to do it though, so pull your finger out Yamaha
Honda shara 300
th-cam.com/video/CCLYiWxJKe0/w-d-xo.html
Looks like a cool bike. Interesting to see the bikes that are sold in other parts of the world